Pages

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Chakka Varatti/Jackfruit Preserve

I'm back with another
Jackfruit post. Those who have been following my blog would’ve known that my
Fil, recently got, 3 Jackfruits. With one of them, we prepared the chakka curry
and the remaining, was made into this delicious Chakka Varatti or jackfruit
jam/preserve.

Since my maternal grandparents were settled in Chennai, we
used to come to Chennai from wherever we were for our summer vacations. So we
never actually got many chances to visit Kerala, our native place and spend
time there. I have very vague memories of my few visits to our village in
Kerala, where my great grandparents lived. Though, few things are clearly
etched in my memory, like running around the big house from the backyard to the
front yard, playing hide and seek with my brother and others.

I cannot forget the food that was served there, fresh and
hot. It tasted so good. Once when I visited, it was Jackfruit season, and I clearly
remember my Great Grandma sitting and frying Jackfruit Chips, the aroma of
coconut oil wafting throughout the house. I and my brother would stand next to
her waiting for our share of fresh homemade chips. Everyone in the house would
be invariably eating jackfruit dipped in honey. She also made Chakka Varatti in
big uruli and packed for us to carry back. Even the Jackfruit seeds were used
in Molagootal and Mezhukuperatti. So that’s how versatile this fruit is and how
every part of it is used up in a delicious way. Hmmm….some precious memories.

Coming back to the present, like I said earlier, we made
chakka varati with the remaining jackfruits. I owe this post totally to my FIL
and Mil, without whom, this post would’ve never appeared on my space. Making
Chakka varatti is easy but very laborious and time consuming. First the fruits
need to be pulled out and deseeded. Then it is cooked and pureed and later
cooked with jaggery, stirring every now and then. The whole process can easily
take upto 3 hours (not including the cleaning of fruit). But the time depends
on the quantity you are making. If you are preparing in lesser quantity, it
will take lesser time. But I can assure you of a really sweet and delicious end
result. Phew! A long post, after a very long time. Off to the recipe:

What you’ll need

Jackfruit Puree – 6 cups *(refer notes)

Powdered Jaggery – 6 cups

Ghee – ¾ cup

Method

Heat a heavy bottomed Kadai or Uruli, add the jaggery.

Dissolve the jaggery in about 1 cup of water.

Strain and remove the impurities. Wash the kadai and pour
back the jaggery syrup into the kadai.

Let it boil on medium heat till one string consistency.

Then add the pureed jackfruit and cook on medium heat,
stirring once in a while to avoid burning.

Do not cook on high flame.

Once all the moisture is absorbed and the mixture starts
thickening add the ghee little at a time or whenever you feel the mixture
sticking to the bottom.

Keep stirring and cooking till the mixture leaves the sides
of the kadai. To reach this stage it took me almost 3 hours for the 6 cups of
jackfruit puree.

Remove from flame and let it cool naturally. Transfer into
clean containers and keep dry.

Delicious chakka varatti is ready. Eat it as it is or make
ela adai, Pradhaman or have it with Adai or even as bread spread.

Note:

Remove the fruit bulbs, deseed them. Pressure cook in a
vessel for 3 whistles, with about ½ cup water. Allow to cool naturally and
grind to a smooth paste.

This preserve stays fresh for a long time if used with care.
Do not use wet spoons or put your hand to remove the preserve.

Hi,I make small quantities of Chaka Varati by cooking the pieces in microwave for 10 minutes in a glass bowl with little water . Then cool and grind , prepare jaggery syrup add to the paste and microwave again for 20 minutes or till it thickens. This method is very easy and we can make in small quantities and preserve in fridge and use everyday with adai ,Dosai,etc.